Combined bracket arrangement and dispensing carton for rolls of web material



m y y Feb. 7, 196a J, RUDNIQK 3,3E,?H

COMBINED BRACKET ARRANGEMENT AND DISPENSING CARTON FOR ROLLS OF WEB MATERIAL Filed Nov. 6, 1964 INVENTOR @9559? J. flab/Wok a 7: WM i United States Patent f COMBINED BRACKET ARRANGEMENT AND DIS- PENSING CARTON FOR ROLLS 0F WEB MA- TERIAL Robert J. Rudnielr, Roekville Centre, N.Y., assrgnor to The Mutual Paper Co. Inc, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Filed Nov. 6, 11964, Ser. No. 409,451 Claims. ((il. 206-58) The present invention relates generally to a combined bracket arrangement and carton for dispensing sheet material from rollers in superimposed layers and particularly to a bracket arrangement which can be removed from the carton upon depletion of the sheet material and returned to the manufacturer for reuse.

In the preparation of patterns in the garment industry, it is customary to employ large sheets of paper which are disposed in superimposed layers. It is the practice to withdraw these superimposed layers of sheet material in accordance with the length which is required. The rolls of paper material are usually journalled within a cardboard carton which serves both as the shipping pack age and dispensing unit. A number of protective packages are known which can be used for the dispensing and shipping of rolls of paper material. However, these known packages do not meet the requirements of a simple, yet effective combined bracket arrangement and dispensing carton for mounting a plurality of rolls of sheet material. This was due to the fact that an effective and commercially feasible means of journalling the rolls of sheet material was not available. It was the practice in connection with shipments made in conventional dispensing cartons to utilize side panels which were reinforced with a plurality of plies of cardboard and to merely bore a hole through such plies for rotatably mounting dowel shafts which extend from either side of the rollers supporting the sheet material. In addition to the expense of requiring a large amount of cardboard material, the provision of side panels which are formed from a large number of plies of cardboard also had proved to be ineffective for the proper journalling of the rollers supporting the sheet material. This was due to the excessive wear to the cardboard side panels upon continuous rotation of the dowel shaft in the bearing openings as well as the poor lateral alignment of the rollers. Further, the fabrication of the dowel shafts, which were permanently secured to the rollers represented a relatively high initial cost and the ultimate discarding of these dowel shafts resulted in a substantial loss.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel combined bracket arrangement and dispensing carton of the aforesaid character, incorporating one or more of the mentioned desirable features. More particularly, it is within the contemplation of the present invention to provide a dispensing carton in which the bracket arrangement for mounting the rolls of sheet material can be removed from the carton and returned to the manufacturer for use in another dispensing carton. In this manner, it is possible to utilize superior bearing mounts which ordinarily would not be economically feasible if the bracket arrangement for the dispensing carton was to be completely discarded upon depletion of the sheet material contained therein. In addition to meeting the requirements of adaptability, and the ability to achieve the intended function, it is equally important that the combined bracket arrangement and dispensing carton be manufactured by mass production techniques at a relatively low unit cost.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment demonstrating objects and features of the present invention there is provided a combined bracket arrangement and carton for rollers of sheet material comprising a unitary case 3,302,781 Patented Feb. 7,1967

body including a base, a pair of spaced apart upstanding side walls and spaced apart upstanding front and rear walls which form an internal housing for mounting the rollers. A pair of rigid bracket inserts of unitary construction are removably secured in confronting relation to the side walls. Fixed to each of the brackets inserts in spaced-apart and aligned relationship are stub shafts. Plug inserts are provided which have bearing openings to receive tde stub shafts, the plug inserts being removably secured to the rollers. Advantageously, the rollers can be detached from the plug inserts and the bracket inserts can be detached from the side walls upon depletion of the sheet material. Thus, the bracket arrangement which is relatively compact in size can be returned to the manufacturer for reuse in another carton.

The above brief description as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combined bracket arrangement and dispensing carton for rolls of web material in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, illustrating the manner in which the superimposed layers of web material are dispensed from the carton;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the carton construction shown in FIG. 2, with the top of the carton removed for convenience of illustration;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a'diagrammatic sectional illustration of the carton with the rolls of web material being shown in a position for shipment; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration similar to FIG. 6, with the carton container being shown in a position for dispensing the sheet material.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the bracket arrangement which is shown detached from the carton;

Referring now specifically to the drawings, there is shown a combined bracket arrangement and carton embodying features of the present .invention which is generally designated by the reference numeral 10 and includes rollers 12 of sheet material W that are mounted in a case body 14 which is closed by a case cover 16.

Each of the sections 14 and 16 is preferably fabricated from multi-ply corrugated sheets of cardboard material, and a general box-like structure is formed by cutting flaps in the cardboard which are subsequently folded inwardly and jointly together as upstanding Walls.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the base section 14 includes a bottom wall 20 and four upstanding walls, namely opposite end walls 22, 24, and opposite side walls 26, 27. The upstanding walls 22, 24, 26, 27 cooperate with the bottom wall 20 to form an internal housing H for mounting the rollers 12. The housing H is closed by the cover 16 which is formed with slightly larger dimensions to fit over the base section 14, as best seen in FIG. 5. Since the cover 16 is similar in construction to the base 14, it will not be necessary to describe the same in detail, but in the interest of clarity like reference numerals will be used to designate like parts of both the base 14 and cover 16. For the purpose of assembling the case body 14, the side walls 26 and 27 are joined along their rearward edges to the rear wall 24. In this manner, the front walls are not secured to the side walls 26, 27 but are hingedly mounted to the bottom walls 20 and movable from the closed position shown in FIG. 1 to the open position shown in FIG. 2, in order to allow for removal of the sheet material W as will be described more fully herein. 7

Removably mounted to the side walls 26, 27 are a pair of rigid bracket inserts 28 which are provided to rotatably mount the rollers 12. The bracket inserts 28 are of unitary construction and preferably fabricated from plywood or any similar rigid material, and a pair of elongate-d brace rods 30 are fixed to the outer faces of the brackets 28, along the length of the upper and lower edges thereof. It is preferable to use a wood adhesive or nails to securely fasten the brace rods 30 onto the bracket inserts 28. In mounting the brackets 28 onto side Walls, 26, and 27, the outward face of each of the brackets is placed in confronting relation with respect to the inner faces of the respective side walls 26, 27. In assembling the bracket inserts 28 to the side walls 26, 27, strips of adhesive or plastic type tape may be used, as well as other types of adhesives, such as glue and the like, in order that the bracket inserts 28 can be easily detached from the case body 14 for reuse by the manufacturer.

For the purpose of rotatably mounting the rollers 12 in the combined bracket arrangement and carton 10, the bracket inserts 28 are formed with pairs of spaced apart and aligned bores 32. The bores 32 are provided to receive stub shafts 34 for rotatably mounting means that removably support the rollers 12, and which are in the form of cylindrical plugs 36. The cylindrical plugs 36 are formed with center bearing openings 37 which are sized to receive the stub shafts 34, such that a relatively loose fit is provided to allow rotation of the plugs 36 about the stub shafts 34. The shafts 34 can be conveniently formed from the conventional stove bolts which have a flat head integrally formed with an unthreaded shank portion adjacent to the flat head 35 and a threaded shank portion that extends from the unthreaded shank portion to the free end of shaft 34. Prior to assembling the rollers 12, the plugs 36 are journalled on the smooth or unthreaded shank portion of the shaft 34 and an inner nut 38 is threadably engaged with shaft 34 until it reaches a stop position adjacent to the beginning of the unthreaded shank portion. The threaded free end of the shank is then inserted in the bore 32 and securely fastened to the bracket inserts 28 by means of an outer nut 39. By tightening the outer nut 39, the inner nut 38 which acts as a stop is brought to bear against the bracket insert 28. The inner nut 38 together with the fiat head 35 also acts as stops for limiting the lateral movement of the cylindrical plug 36 along the unthreaded shank portion of stub shaft 34. In order to provide proper spacing for the disposition of the outer nuts 39, the brace rods 30 are spaced apart from each other to define an elongated channel C between each of the respective side walls 26, 27 and the bracket inserts 28, as best shown in FIG. 5.

For the purpose of securing the rollers 12 to the cylindrical plugs 36, the outer diameters of the plugs and the inner diameters of the rollers are sized to provide a press fit. Thus, after mounting the stub shafts 34 which carry the plugs 36, it is a relative easy operation to insert the plugs 36 into the hollow cylindrical portion of roller 12, such that a press fit is achieved for securely fastening the roller 12 to the plug 36. This press fit allows the cylindrical plugs 36 to be removed from the roller 12 upon depletion of the sheet material W as will presently be described herein. It is possible to assembly the plugs 36 to the rollers 12 either prior to or subsequent to the securing of the bracket insert 28 to the respective side walls 26, 27.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inner faces of the side inserts 28 are formed with elongated U-shaped slots 40 which are open at one end and are positioned in vertical relation with respect to the axis of rotation of the rollers 12. The slots 40 are for mounting a guide insert 42, the side edges of which slide into the channels 40, as will be appreciated by progressively inspecting FIGS. 3 and 4.

The guide insert 42 is formed by cutting and folding a cardboard blank into the shape of an inverted channel having a U-shaped cross section. The guide insert 42 is positioned slightly above the bottom wall 20 and serves as a means for guiding the sheet material W as it is withdrawn simultaneously in superimposed plies from within the rectangular case body 14 and also as a means for protecting the rollers 12 of sheet material W during shipment and storage.

A short strip of sheet material 44 having a relatively narrow width is provided for securing the rollers 12 of sheet material W, particularly when the case body 14 is used as a shipping carton. Accordingly, as best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the leading edges of the three plies of sheet material W are fastened to the inner surface of the strip 44 by means of a tape 46. One end of the narrow strip 44 is threaded underneath the rollers 12 trained over the top of the guide insert 42 and is attached to the narrow strip 44 by a tape 48. The other free end of the narrow strip 44 is attached to the front wall 24 of base section 14 by means of a tape 50. Thus, the rolls 12 of sheet material W are tightly embraced by the channel strip 44 with the leading edges of the three superimposed plies being maintained in the proper position for withdrawal of the sheet material W.

For the purpose of shipping the combined bracket arrangement and carton 10, the guide insert 42, narrow strip 44 and tapes 46, 48, 50 are attached as described herein, and the front wall 24 of the cover 16 is folded over the front wall 24 of the case body 14, and a tape 54 is secured thereto. It is preferable to also provide additional tapes 56 for more securely fastening the remaining side walls of the cover 16 to those of the base 14. In order to prepare the combined bracket arrangement and carton 10 for withdrawal of sheet material W in superimposed plies, it is merely necessary to remove tape 54, unfold the front walls 24 and remove the tapes 50 and 48. In this manner the rollers 12 of sheet material W are placed in the position shown in FIG. 8 with only tape 46 attached to the leading edge of the sheet material W and narrow strip 44. Accordingly, the narrow strip 44 can be pulled forward through the guide slot formed by the front walls 24 until the entire length of narrrow strip 44 is free of the case body 14. Thus, the leading edges of three superimposed layers of sheet material W can be withdrawn together with the narrow strip 44, and the last tape 46 can be removed so that the narrow strip 44 can be detached and the desired lengths of superimposed plies of sheet material W can be severed.

Upon depletion of the sheet material W, the tapes 56 (one of which can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2) for securing the cover 16 to the case body 14 can be removed and the side walls 26 and 27 can be disassembled from the bracket inserts 28 and the rear wall 22. It is then a relatively easy operation to slide the cylindrical plugs 34 out of their pressed fit engagement with the rollers 12, such that the bracket arrangement is completely free of the case body 14, as shown in FIG. 8. Advantageously, the bracket arrangement when removed from the carton is relatively easy to ship since very little space is required, and it is contemplated in accordance with the present invention, that a large number of bracket arrangements could be accumulated and returned to the manufacturer in a single shipping carton. Accordingly, the return of the brackets to the manufacturer is facilitated by placing each pair of bracket inserts 28 in confronting relation with the plugs 34 facing each other and placing the plugs 34 of each bracket in a dovetailed position in the spaces between the adjacent plugs 34.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

What I claim is:

1. In a dispensing carton for rotatably mounting rollers of sheet material including a unitary case body including a base, a pair of spaced apart upstanding side walls and spaced apart upstanding front and rear walls which form an internal housing for mounting said rollers, and a case cover adapted to fit over said case body, a pair of rigid bracket inserts of unitary construction removably secured in confronting relation to said side walls, stub shafts fixed to each of said bracket inserts in spaced apart and aligned relationship, and plug inserts rotatably mounted on said stub shafts and said plug inserts being removably secured to said rollers such that said rollers can be detached from said plug inserts and said bracket inserts can be detached from said side walls upon the depletion of said sheet material.

2. A combined dispensing carton and bracket arrangement for rotatably mounting three rollers of sheet material comprising a unitary case body including a base, a pair of spaced apart upstanding side walls and spaced apart upstanding front and rear walls which form an internal housing for mounting the first, second and third of said rollers in an axis of rotation which is horizontally disposed between said side walls, a case cover adapted to fit over said case body, a pair of rigid bracket inserts of unitary construction removably secured in confronting relation to said side walls and said bracket inserts having slots formed thereon which are vertically disposed with respect to the axis of rotation of said rollers, guide means of inverted U-shaped cross-section mounted in said slots with said guide means positioned over said second roller, stub shafts fixed to each of said bracket inserts in spaced apart and aligned relationship, and plug inserts rotatably mounted on said stub shafts and removably secured to said rollers such that said rollers can be detached from said plug inserts and said bracket inserts can be detached from said side walls upon the depletion of said sheet material.

3. A combined dispensing carton and bracket arrangement for rotatably mounting rollers of sheet material comprising a unitary case body including a base, a pair of spaced apart upstanding side walls and spaced apart upstanding front and rear walls which form an internal housing for mounting said rollers, a case cover adapted to fit over said case body, a pair of rigid bracket inserts fabricated from wooden panels and removably secured in confronting relation to said side walls with each of said bracket inserts having through bores which are aligned for mounting said rollers in an axis of rotation which is horizontally disposed between said side walls, stub shafts disposed in said through bores and fixed to each of said bracket inserts in spaced apart and aligned relationship, and plug inserts having bearing openings rotatably mounted on said stub shafts and said plug inserts being removably secured to said rollers such that said rollers can be detached from said plug inserts and said bracket inserts can be detached from said side walls upon the depletion of said sheet material.

4. A combined dispensing carton and bracket arrange ment for rotatably mounting hollow cylindrical rollers of sheet material comprising a unitary case body including a base, a pair of spaced apart upstanding side Walls and spaced apart upstanding front and rear walls which form an internal housing for mounting said rollers in a horizontal axis of rotation with respect to said side walls, a case cover adapted to fit over said case body, a pair of rigid bracket inserts removably secured in confronting relation to said side walls with each of said bracket inserts having through bores positioned in alignment for mounting said rollers, stub shafts in the form of stove bolts that have a shank which is threaded from the free end of said shank to a median point on said shank and is relatively smooth from said median point to the opposite end of said shank which is provided with a flat head, cylindrical plug inserts having bearing openings receiving said stub shafts for rotatably mounting said plug inserts with said stub shafts being received in said through bores, means provided for threadably engaging the shanks of said stub shafts for securing said stub shafts to said bracket inserts in spaced apart alignment in each of said through bores, and said plug inserts being sized to fit within said hollow cylindrical rollers to provide a press fit and removably secure said rollers to said plug inserts such that said rollers can be detached from said plug inserts and said bracket inserts can be detached from said side walls upon the depletion of said sheet material.

5. A combined dispensing carton and bracket arrangement rotatably mounting three hollow cylindrical rollers of sheet material comprising a unitary case body including a base, a pair of spaced apart upstanding side walls and spaced apart upstanding front and rear walls which form an internal housing for mounting the first, second and third of said rollers in a horizontal axis for rotation with respect to said side walls, a case cover adapted to fit over said case body, a pair of rigid bracket inserts fabricated from wooden panels and removably secured in confronting relation to said side walls with each of said panels having through bores positioned in alignment for mounting said rollers and said panels having slots formed thereon which are vertically disposed with respect to the 0 axis of rotation of said rollers, guide means of inverted U-shaped cross-section mounted in said slots and said guide means positioned over said second roller, sub shafts in the form of stove bolts that have a shank which is threaded from the free end of said shank to a median point on said shank and is relatively smooth from said median point to the opposite end of said shank which is provided with a flat head, cylindrical plug inserts having bearing openings receiving said stub shafts for rotatably mounting said plug inserts with said stub shafts being received in said through bores, means provided for threadably engaging the shanks of said stub shafts for securing said stub shafts to said bracket inserts in spaced apart alignment in each of said through bores, and said plug inserts being sized to fit within said hollow cylindrical rollers to provide a press fit and removably secure said rollers to said plug inserts such that said rollers can be detached from said plug inserts and said bracket inserts can be detached from said side walls upon the depletion of said sheet material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,380,644 7/ 1945 Grondona 206--52 2,416,580 2/1947 Hancock 242-5553 2,848,104 8/1958 Schor et al. 206--58 FOREIGN PATENTS 179,301 5/1922 Great Britain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. MARTHA L. RICE, Examiner. 

1. IN A DISPENSING CARTON FOR ROTATABLY MOUNTING ROLLERS OF SHEET MATERIAL INCLUDING A UNITARY CASE BODY INCLUDING A BASE, A PAIR OF SPACED APART UPSTANDING SIDE WALLS AND SPACED APART UPSTANDING FRONT AND REAR WALLS WHICH FORM AN INTERNAL HOUSING FOR MOUNTING SAID ROLLERS, AND A CASE COVER ADAPTED TO FIT OVER SAID CASE BODY, A PAIR OF RIGID BRACKET INSERTS OF UNITARY CONSTRUCTION REMOVABLY SECURED IN CONFRONTING RELATION TO SAID SIDE WALLS, STUB SHAFTS FIXED TO EACH OF SAID BRACKET INSERTS IN SPACED 